Gao Fangjie kissed the court floor after her final match at the Badminton Asia Championship. The Chinese star confirmed her retirement following her exclusion from the Uber Cup squad. Despite her World No. 10 ranking, persistent injuries forced the 27-year-old to walk away from the sport.

In an emotional post regarding her campaign, Gao reflected on her journey, and she described how, after her final point, she knelt and kissed the ground as a thank you to the sport that had defined her childhood.

On X, @zhiyiilyy made a post regarding the situation on Gao's emotional words.

"I often think of these days secretly wiping tears in the rehabilitation room away, battling the pain without ever considering giving up, accumulating points from low-level tournaments to climb into the top 10." Gao said in her statement.

She did not frame her farewell as a loss or a defeat but rather as a journey she is grateful for. After years of effort and setbacks, even if she never won a major world title before and never got a chance to get her “Uber Cup moment”, she still chose to frame her effort as a success.

The Setbacks that Shaped her Decision

Gao’s retirement wasn't an impulsive decision but was planned way before the BAC 2026 even began. The World No. 10's quarterfinal exit was difficult on her after a three-game defeat to Akane Yamaguchi, but the main turning point happened when she was excluded from the Uber Cup squad due to strong internal competition.

She had been suffering from a major injury since 2019, an Achilles tendon rupture, which forced her off the court for a long time, and she didn't return to the international competition until 2022.

The long break made her lose her momentum and consistency; all before this, she was an emerging star from China who easily beat top seeds around the world.

Even if she's ranked at the world No. 10 right now, she wasn’t guaranteed a spot either way, considering that she was against players like Chen Yufei, Wang Zhiyi, Han Yue, and He Bingjiao.

More than the “achievements” in her career, it is very inspiring to see a player choose a different perspective to reframe their journey at just 27.

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Written by

Aadhya Nalla

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi